Tips for Parents

Unstructured outdoor play – from a game of hide-and-seek to watching the clouds – helps kids find nature on their own terms. It also helps them appreciate that the “outdoors” isn’t a far-away place – it’s in their backyards, a neighborhood park, or a little creek down the road. Even more important, it shows kids that nature can be FUN!

Structured activities, in which you are leading the way, can have benefits too. Just be sure to build a sense of accomplishment into the experience. For example, teaching a child how to identify a flower or tree based on shapes or number of leaves can make the outdoors feel more familiar and a little intimidating. Not sure how to ID plants yourself? There’s an app for that! (As well as plenty of great guidebooks.) Check out:

Leafpoint (free for iPhone and iPad): Identifies trees based on a photograph of the leaves.

LikeThat Garden (free for iPhone): Identifies flowers based on a photograph.

Activity Ideas

Want a few ideas to get your outdoor adventures started? How about one of these?

Walk in the woods

Visit a farm

Pick berries (spring) or apples (fall) – depending on where you live

Watch birds

Explore a creek and see what you find in the water

Plant a garden

Look for bats at dusk

Roast marshmallows

Build a person-sized nest or den with sticks, rocks, or whatever you have nearby

Some pollution is easy to identify. Other times, “pollution” can mean something different for people and for fish and wildlife. That’s why the Izaak Walton League developed the Save Our Streams program and Creek Freaks project for kids – to test water quality using science.

Finding animal tracks is exciting for kids, especially trying to figure out which animal made the tracks and what the animal was doing. In this activity, you will look for signs of wildlife and make casts of any tracks you find.

When we talk about air pollution, we mean small particles in the air that can affect our ability to breathe and cause other health problems. This project is an easy way to show kids the particulate matter that floats in the air around them, largely unseen.